HOUSTON — Anyone who has struggled to shed pounds is probably familiar with the dreaded weight loss plateau. It’s when you have been dieting for a while and despite your efforts your weight loss stops.
New research from the National Institutes of Health is shedding light on why that happens and how to lose more weight before everything stalls.
According to CNN, the body is always trying to maintain the status quo, so when we cut calories and start burning our stored energy during a diet, the body will kickstart our appetite and try to get us to eat more.
The more weight we lose, the stronger that appetite gets, causing a plateau. This new research found that people restricting their calories hit that plateau around the 12-month mark.
The study also looked at popular medical interventions for losing weight, like gastric bypass surgery and drugs like Wegovy. The research found they doubled the time before weight loss stalled. That’s because when those test subjects lost weight the appetite increase was a lot lower than people who were on regular diets, with weight loss surgery having the strongest effect.
So, what should you do when you plateau? Experts recommend cutting even more calories or adding more exercise to your routine.